A new US golden age?

6:28 AM MDT | April 4, 2014

While it seems reckless to regard multi-billion projects to add commodity chemical capacity in mature US markets as low-risk, can’t-lose investments, it is difficult to identify potential developments that can disrupt the US cost-advantage thanks to shale gas. As ExxonMobil Chemical president Stephen Pryor said in a keynote address (p. 11) at IHS Chemical’s recent World Petrochemical Conference (WPC), “[W]hat we are seeing is a recapitalization of the US chemical industry.”...